Typographical distributing mechanism



March 24, 1925. Y Y A. W. F. GUEST TYPOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 2 1923 IN ENTOR v 77%im ZTToRN EYs Patented Mar. 24, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED W. F. GUEST, or BROOKLYN, new YORK, AssIeNoR To MERGENTHALER Inno- TYPE COMPANY, A onroRA'rIoN or NEW YORK.

TYPOGRAPHICAL' DISTRIBUTING MECHANISM.

Application filed August 2, 1923. Serial No. 655,166.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED W. F. GUns'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invent-ed certain new and useful Improvements in Typographical Distributing Mechanism, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates .to typographical machines, and more particularly to linotype machines of that class wherein the matrices, after casting, are presented to a primary distributor, which sorts them according .to

font, and are thereafter delivered to one or another of a plurality of main distributors, which separate them according to character. These main character-distributors ordinarily each comprise a longitudinally ribbed or permuted bar, a set of matrix conveying screws, and a so-called distributor. box, which latter is equipped with separator dogs acting to permit the matrices to pass by gravity, one at a time, into engagement with the conveying screws for transportation along the bar. Heretofore, considerable difliculty has been experienced in handling the larger or display matrices which, due to their extreme thickness, frequently fail to enter the grooves of the distributor screws in time to clear the separator dogsand thus become clogged in the distributor box, interrupting the distribution and oftentimes causing damage to the parts. This difficulty .is particularly pronounced in the case of the half-'nch pitch distributor screw "now in general use and which has a. thread consider ably wider than its groove. In attempting to overcome the difficulty, such screw has sometimes been made with a reduced pitch (6. 9., a quarter-inch pitch) at its receiving end, so that its thread will be more nearly vertical at that portion engaged by a matrix "when released by the separator dogs. A screw, as thus formed, affords some additional room for the released matrix but presents thedrawback that the next or succeeding matrix, if also of the thicker variety, will be arrested by contact with the preceding matrix and thus interfere with the separator dogs, giving rise to the objections before alluded to. v

The present invention ate the foregoing and other objections, and annsto adapt the distributor box to handle matrices of all sizes without interference or delay. To this end, it is proposed to recess or cut away the threads of the distributor screws at points adjacent their groove entrances in such manner as to attain the des red result. The exact form and construction of the partswill best be understood from the detailed desoriptionto follow.

In the accompanying drawings:

F 1g. 1 is a, side elevation, partly broken away, of aportion of one of the main distrlbutors of a linotype machine of the class stated; V

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the distributor box'det'ached; and T Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing one end of the improved distributor screw. i .As shown, the distributor comprises the longitudinally ribbed or permuted bar A, the set of rotary matrixconveying screws B (three in number), and the distributor box C. These parts are of well-known construction, although the conveying'screws B are of the peculiar form disclosed in the Rogers Patent No. 1,137,024, each having a half+ inch pitch and a thread considerably wider than its groove, all for the purposes therein set forth. As is well understood in the art, the matrices X are fed to the conveying screws, one at a time, under the control of the two vertically reciprocating separator dogs C operated in synchronism with the screws and adapted to cooperate with notches X formed in the lower ends of the matrices. dogs C it slides downwardly along the hen a matrix is released by the v is intended to obvi Y distributor box rails C until its projecting ears X become engaged with the threads of the three conveying screws B, in which posir tion the ears will enter the grooves of the screws as the latter rotate. In this way, the individual matrices are picked up by the screws and carried along the rails C onto the distributor bar A, along which they are propelled by the screws until released at the proper point. For further details as to the construction and mode of operation of the foregoing parts, reference may be had to the Sout-hwell Patent No. 792,472.

The present invention, in meeting the difficulties before mentioned, is designed to pro vide ample room for matrices of all sizes as they are released by the separator dogs and to ensure a positive engagement between the conveying screws and the released matrices, as well as a quick advance of the latter from the distributor box. To this end, the conveying screws have their threads cut away or recessed at the points where they are engaged by the released matrices, in such manner and to such extent that they will stand clear of the separator dogs and in position to be picked up and carried away by the screws with the required celerity. In the present instance, and by way of example, the thread of each screw is cut away or recessed throughout a portion of its first convolution, as at B preferably in a plane at right angles to the screw axis, and then continued in its reduced form and at its original pitch to its extreme end. Reference is made particularly to Fig. 3, which shows one of the conveying screws on an enlarged scale, the dotted lines indicating that portion of the thread cut away. It is pointed out that the recess B is formed in the following side face of the screw-thread, as distinguished from its leading side face, which is intact or uninterrupted through out. As a result, when a thick matrix is released by the separator dogs, it will be allowed to slide forwardly into the recesses B until arrested by the contact of the ears X with the vertical side faces of the re duced threads, as clearly indicated by the full-line showing in Fig. 1. By way of comparison, attention is drawn to the dottedline showing in Fig. 1, which indicates the position of the thick matrix at the time of its arrest by the old unrecessed form of screw. It will be seen, therefore, that in the use of the improved conveying screws, ample room is afforded for matrices of all sizes without disturbing the effective pitch of the screws, which is uniform throughout. Moreover, due to the location of the recesses at or near the receiving ends of the screws, the latter are enabled to pick up the matrices the instant they are released and carry them out of the way of the following matrices. These and other advantages will be apparent'to those skilled in the art.

In the accompanying drawings, the invention has been shown only in preferred form and by way of example, and as applied to a linotype machine of the class stated, but obviously many alterations and modifications therein, and in its mode of application,

may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. It will be understood, therefore, that the invent-ion is not limited to any specific form or embodiment, except in so far as such limitations are specified in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, its construction and mode of operation, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as follows:

1. In or for a typographical distributing mechanism, a conveying screw having a thread of lesser width throughout its first convolution than that of its remaining portion.

2. In or for a typographical distributing mechanism, a conveying screw having its thread of greater width than that of its groove, the said thread being narrower throughout its first convolution than at its remaining portion.

3. In or for a typographical distributing mechanism, a. conveying screw having its thread of great-er width than that of its groove, the thread being cut away in its following side face from a point adjacent the entrance to said groove.

4. In or for a typographical distributing mechanism, a conveying screw having a thread whose following side face is disposed at right angles to the axis of the screw for a portion of its first convolution.

5. In or for a typographical distributing mechanism, a conveying screw having its thread of greater width than that of its groove, the thread being cut away in its following side face from a point adjacent the entrance to the groove and at right angles to the axis of said screw for a portion of its first convolution.

6. In or for a typographical distributing mechanism, a conveying screw having a thread of uniform pitch throughout and cut away in its following side face at a point adjacent its receiving end.

7. A typographical distributing mechanisin including, in combination, a set of matrix conveying screws, a distributor box through which the matrices pass by gravity into engagement with said screws, and a pair of reciprocating dogs acting in synchronism with said screws for controlling the passage of the matrices through the distributor box, the said screws having their threads cut away or recessed at the points of engagement with the matrices, substantially as and for the purpose describedf S. A. typographical distributing mecha nism, including, in combination, a set of matrix conveying screws, and a distributor box through which the matrices pass by gravity into engagement with the screws, the said screws having their threads cut away or recessed at the points of engagement with the matrices.

9. A typographical distributing mecharices through the distributor box, the said nism, including, in combination, a set of screws having their threads cut away or rematrix conveying screws, a distributor box cessed at the points of engagement with the 10 through which the matrices pass by gravity matrices.

5 into engagement with the screws, and an In testimony whereof, I have afliXe-d my escapement acting in synchronism with said signature hereto. 7 screws for controlling the passage of mat- ALFRED WV. F. GUEST. 

